“I was tired of holding myself back and never feeling good enough”

What if you could feel good about yourself, believe in your abilities, and learn how to be a radiant, confident person?

But we do it all the time.

You’re so embarrassing. / You’re so stupid. / Why can’t you just be normal?

And we don’t just say these things to ourselves at dramatically emotional moments. How many of us have said things like this when we tried to talk to someone new at a networking event? Or when we over-spent on our credit card?

The situations change, but our stories stay the same: Unlike the “naturally confident” people who always appear self-assurred, well-spoken, and chic, we tear ourselves down for being awkward, incapable, and a mess.

And treating yourself this way begins to take a toll.

Like:

• Not believing your idea is good enough to present to your boss, and the client walks out to take their business elsewhere.
• Staying with an ex way longer than you probably should because you don’t believe you’ll find someone else.
• Excessively apologizing to the business man in the airport (when he bumped into you, spilling your peppermint mocha).

And sheesh, I’ve been there. Most of us have been there.

And the kicker is that we use these experiences to reinforce our own negativity and self-hate. A ruined coffee becomes internalized as a self-conscious desire to take up less space. A lost client solidifies our self-belief that “I’ll never be as good as [that coworker].” 

Things like “I’m not brave enough for that,” “I can’t talk to people,” and “He’ll never notice me” become written in our hearts.

And the more powerless situations we find ourselves in, the more we reinforce this belief, leading to a never-ending spiral of tearing ourselves down. “Jeeze, you’re such a hot mess. Why can’t you keep it together? Why can’t you just be normal?”

What can you do?

There are so many books, blogs, and articles on confidence and self-love. “How to be Confident While Networking!” “5 Self-Care Activities to Try This Weekend!” And the list goes on. The biggest piece of advice we see from these are to “just be yourself” and to “make time for YOU.”

Oookay. 

But, like, HOW? What are the details? What do you say? What happens if you get in your own way? 

You can find a lot of really inspiring folks spreading good confidence vibes and giving great motivational talks. And they might pump you up for a while. You email that suggestion to a coworker, or walk a little taller at a networking event. But then it doesn’t go the way you planned, or you take some missteps along the way. And a week or a month down the road, you’re back to the same old feelings of self-hate, and the same spiral of hopelessness. 

I’ve been there, sweet friend, and I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to stay that way. 

When I felt that way, a small, teeny spark of my heart longed so deeply for there to be a better way. And through studying and practicing different confidence techniques for years,  I uncovered some fundamental beliefs that were holding me back, and some key mindset shifts that completely unlocked my inner confidence! (I’ll tell you a little more about those shifts a little further down this page 🤩)

And I say “unlocked” my inner confidence, because confidence isn’t something that’s external. You can’t wrap it up and give it as a gift (although I would SO do that if I could!)

It’s not something that someone can steal away.

It’s not made of anything that you don’t already have within you, sweet friend.

This is the truth that nobody tells you.

Confidence is something that we all have the potential for within us. It’s something that we can uncover and nurture and grow. 

In other words, confidence is a skill we can build and cultivate.

It’s rooted in a growth mindset, and takes shape through a collection of solid communication skills, body language habits, and positive mindset practices. 

And here’s another truth:

Being unconfident and unworthy are just labels we give ourselves. 

They’re just labels.

It’s like saying “I’m not good at music. I can’t play piano” without ever tickling an ivory. 

Being unconfident simply means that we haven’t given our minds permission to believe that we’re confident.

And we haven’t yet practiced the skills that support that belief. 

There’s a seriously important pastime we all seem to be missing out on.

You know, it’s funny how much time we’re willing to spend on things like watching Netflix, deciding which dry shampoo to try, and which rug on Wayfair would match the living room couch best… but we almost never take the time to genuinely practice what confidence looks like.

It’s kind of like we expect that we “if we were confident” we should automatically appear bold, carefree, and self-satisfied, without ever spending time making our bodies, voices, and words fit that mold. 

Sweet friend, you wouldn’t expect to run a half marathon if you don’t at least jog on the regular. 

And we get frustrated because we don’t seem to be “actually confident” like other women— but we haven’t put in the time to practice living that life. 

Wait, but, like, is it a tad weird to “practice” confidence skills?

Nope. It totally isn’t. I promise 😊

Several years ago I was pretty ruffled by a colleague who never talked to me— “the new girl” in our department. He didn’t even make eye contact with me. For months!

(Yes, I totally let him get away with ignoring me for basically the entirety of pumpkin season).

But really, I let myself get away with not being professionally assertive. And, fed up with how far he was getting under my skin,  I decided something had to change.

So I started by smiling at him every time we passed in the corridors. And every time I did, I felt weird as heck and totally squicky and frankly a little sweaty. The entire time, in my brain, I was saying to myself “F*ck it, I’m just doing this. This is happening and it doesn’t matter, because it’s not an option to not do it. So there.” (I know, I know, dropping the F*bomb isn’t profesh.. but we’re being honest here, right? It’s totally my favorite confidence-booster when my brain needs an extra push).

With enough smiling practice, I switched it up to “Hi”, and eventually “How’s it going?” 

And, sweet friend, asking “how’s it going” is reallly where I started to feel the rush of power— this dude who hadn’t deemed me worthy of a conversation had to actually speak words out of his mouth! Ha! It was no small feeling of self-satisfaction, let me tell you.

I met him with a smile and cheerful questions every single day until he started asking me questions back. Which was nice, but that’s not the real victory. ‘Cause it was never really about him.

The truth is…

When you let yourself feel unworthy or lesser than someone else, it’s because you decided to do nothing about it. 

Yikes, right? It’s a truth that hurts a little.

Buuuut we’ve all lived this truth. We’ve seen friends let themselves feel unworthy of the person that they’re dating, or stay at a job that utterly drained them because they didn’t think they could get something better. We’ve even tried to help them shake it off and realize their own self-worth.

And right now it’s time for you to realize your own self-worth. It’s time for you to unlock your own inner confidence!

Because I’ll be honest, sweet friend— it’s so not weird to practice being confident. It’s really a whole lot weirder to label yourself  as “unconfident” or “unworthy” and go your entire life without trying to genuinely test that theory.

Think about how powerful it will be to learn the confidence skills you need to truly stop selling yourself short.

Really, spend a second visualizing what your life would look like. Tomorrow you’ll feel a little bolder and a little excited to start practicing. You’ll chat a little longer with your barista, or email a suggestion to your colleague. 

And then there’s next month. You used to feel like telling yourself you were stupid was a natural part of living, but you’re starting to notice those thoughts less, and you’ve got more energy when you come home from work (Heck yes!)

A few months down the road when these changes are truly shifting your mindset, and your friends begin telling you you’re so positive all the time, and your boss selects you for a new project.

And just imagine what a difference your inner confidence can make— how much brighter and influential your life can be— in five years, or a decade from now.

There are so many of us who choose to to keep their labels: awkward, unconfident, not worth it. It’s so easy to gloss over our inner light and potential, sweet friend. To continue feeling stuck in our own lives.

You can continue on like that— so many, many people do.

Or you can begin to uncover your inner confidence 💛

It’s waiting for you— (and you deserve to unlock it). 

You so, SO do! 🤩

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Get the scoop on

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Let’s see if we’re a good fit for working together!

I help kind-hearted people build their confidence skills.

I work with:

Service professionals / Non-profit advocates / Speakers / Teachers / Artists / Businesswomen

Direct sales consultants / Entrepreneurs / Job hunters / Presenters / Sales professionals

Beautiful people who can change the world with their confidence and joy!

My heart 100% wishes I could work with everyone all the time for everything!

But since I don’t have a Time-Turner like Hermione in Harry Potter, I only take on a limited number of clients at a time. 

And the lovely people I work with all have a few things in common:

1. They’re SO READY for change! And their hearts are totalllly enthusiastic about getting started! (What can I say? My bubbly positivity attracts kind-hearted excitement!)
2. They’re honest with themselves about who really has to do the work: Themselves! 🤓 (I could reference ye ole metaphor about leading a horse to water, but we’ll stick with the facts— you live in your beautiful brain and I do not. I’ll totally lay out the path for you and cheer you on! But you have to take the steps 💛)
3. They’re prepared to hear the truth about their processes, patterns, and choices. (I’m SUCH a nice, positive person! But I’m also an honest person 😊 And that might mean that you hear me say some uncomfy things. But don’t you worry— I’ll say it with SO MUCH love in my heart! And with SO MUCH enthusiasm for your future and your potential! 🤩)

Let’s see if we’re a good fit for each other!

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Good Cheer from Clients:

Let’s see if we’re a good fit for each other!

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You are SO ready for Confidence! And it all starts here 🤩💛

 

What you get when we work together: 

You’ll also receive: 

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Soak up the Good Cheer 💛

Curious? Heck yes!

Let’s see if we’re a good fit for each other!

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Meet Your Confidence Coach

I founded Brave Heart Open Mind in an effort to help beautiful humans find their confidence, their voices, and their self-love 💛

Because I’ve walked the path of feeling like I wasn’t good enough— drowning in self-doubt and self-hate— and it genuinely straight up sucks. (It does, for real. If you’ve been there— ugly-crying on gross cold linoleum— you know it’s true).

And through painstakingly building positive lifelong habits for myself, I’ve paved a new path: One where I consistently push myself to grow, feel good enough, and live in a place of calm, centered confidence.

And these habits aren’t magic— anyone can learn them! Everyone deserves to learn them. They’re rooted in solid verbal communication skills, body language tactics, and powerful mindset shifts. Meshing these three skillsets together creates a powerful range of habits that can make any lovely human feel confident! All you have to do is learn them and consistently work hard to practice them throughout your life. When you’re ready to commit to yourself, when you’re ready to finally let yourself feel good enough, when you’re ready to live a life of confidence, I can help you learn and practice these habits! You’re worth it 😀 (You SO are!)

Technically speaking, I have 10 years of experience as a public speaking teacher, coach, and judge, and I’m also rockin’ 7 years of experience in teaching interviewing skills, critical thinking tactics, and writing strategies. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism and a Master’s Degree in education. I’m also currently pursuing my NLP + Life & Success Coaching Certification with the International Board of Coaches and Practitioners! #lifelonglearner #cantstopwontstop 🤩

I’m also a total scifi nerd 🤓 

I can’t wait for us to work together! Seriously, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with! You’ll learn such powerful new habits, and you’ll feel so much power in the confidence that you’ve unlocked! Heck yes!!

Cheers and coffee mug clinks,

Kayla Vavra

Let’s see if we’re a good fit for each other!

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

I totally wish I could afford this, but it’s not the right time. What else do you have for me?

You can definitely grab yourself a Confidence Kit, even if we’re not working together yet! (My tech guy is working on our shop for a hot minute, but it’ll be back up soon!)

I’m also currently developing an online confidence course called Hello, Confidence! that will cover some similar topics! The doors will be opening for enrollment soon, so be sure to hop onto my email list so that you’re the FIRST to know when it goes live! 🤩

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You can also check out my collection of free resources called Design Your Mind. 

How much time should I plan to spend on improving my confidence?

Great question! We’re going to have one hour meetings together twice a month for the next six months, (Huzzah!) and you’ll be doing some reflection and journaling assignments during our “off” weeks. You’re in charge of the time and effort you put into these assignments, so let them be flexible, yet prioritized. You’ll also be practicing the skills that we go over, and this amount of time is also up to you– increased practice often yields increased results, (just like with any new skill that you’r learning), so be sure to ask yourself if you’re excited, dedicated, and totally ready to uncover & grow your confidence! 🤩

When can we start? 

This varies! Typically I’m booked out about 60 days in advance because I’m committed to giving quality support to my clients. Other times we can start sooner, and sometimes later. Please apply right away to see if we’re a good fit for working together.